(Jose Carlos Fajardo/Bay Area News Group) The new Pinole Valley High School cost about $200 million and was part of the district’s $1.6 billion bond program, the fifth most expensive school construction effort in California. Now district officials want to add another $575 million.

I am passionate about public education. I’ve lived in Richmond long enough to have two generations in my family go through West Contra Costa Unified School District (WCCUSD). My two great-grandchildren — the third generation — are just starting out in a WCCUSD elementary school.

I care about our schools, and I saw first-hand how badly we needed to upgrade them back when the bond program started more than 20 years ago. Up until 2014, I voted enthusiastically in favor of every bond measure.

But on March 3, I will be voting no on Measure R, the district’s $575 million bond proposal.

Bond initiatives such as Measure R require a Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. Three years ago, I retired as a corporate budget analyst and joined WCCUSD’s oversight committee. As community volunteers, we oversee the use of bond funds in our district and report annually to the public. One of the most crucial components of this role is to keep the public informed about audit findings, especially the ones that carry the highest risk.

In 2016, a forensic accounting investigation was conducted in WCCUSD after allegations surfaced that included risk of “waste, improper expenditure, or fraud.” The final report included 21 recommendations specific to the most serious allegations, which mostly dealt with budget management. It’s disheartening to report that, to date, not one of these recommendations has been confirmed as fully implemented by auditors. Until this is done, I cannot with confidence vote to authorize Measure R.

Bond measures do not have to be complicated, especially when you have been told what you did wrong in the past and have been given directions on how to find a clear path forward.

One recommendation from the investigation, in particular, gave us a straightforward prescription for drafting a healthy bond measure. The recommendation stated plainly that when seeking to pass a future bond measure, WCCUSD should “include language in the bond measure that specifically refers to the Board-approved Long-Range Facilities Master Plan.” In other words, make a plan, draft a bond measure to fund the plan, and then follow the plan.

Luckily, WCCUSD has a well-founded, comprehensive Facilities Master Plan, informed by over 80 community meetings and approved in 2016. But the way Measure R is written, there is no assurance that this community-driven Facilities Master Plan will guide Measure R dollars.

With such a loose tie to the plan, we really have no way of knowing what the actual priorities and project timeline might be and whether funds will be allocated equitably across the district. Unfortunately, WCCUSD chose not to follow the one, clear-cut recommendation that would have made voting yes on Measure R an easy decision.

I am not here to argue whether every child in our district deserves to learn in safe, comfortable and modern facilities. Of course that’s what we want for our kids and teachers. But we can’t overspend and waste money on facilities and then ask taxpayers to help fund teachers and school leaders, which is where it really counts.

For the good of all students and teachers in our community, we must demand strict accountability and disciplined spending on our facilities. And that is not what we will get from Measure R.

I am confident that we will see more bond measures in the future. I hope that when we do, our district will have received a clean bill of health from all auditors and that any future bond is tied tightly to WCCUSD’s Facilities Master Plan, ensuring both accountability and equity across the district.

The only way we will see initiatives we want is to defeat ones we don’t want — and Measure R is not what we want. As a community, we deserve much better.

Sallie DeWitt has been a Richmond resident since 1972 and volunteer and public education advocate for more than 30 years. A retired budget analyst, she serves on the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee for the West Contra Costa Unified School District.